Disco-Ron Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hi all, I could use some info if thats possible............ I currently have a tricked up discovery, but fancy a proper land rover, ie, 90..... I also fancy the idea of a v8 on carbs..... what is the best gearbox to use for such a beast, as if i can't find one as is, i could change it to suit my needs..... so which base vehicle is the best starting point for such a toy... petrol.. diesel...?? does it depend what gearbox is already in it, or are the ratios different for petrol/diesel anyway...??? Many thanks., There are probably a hundred more things i should ask, but i can't think at the moment.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Original V8's on carbs (mostly 110's) were horrendously detuned compared to other vehicles - a 110 low-compression V8 makes about 100bhp, normal high-compression 3.5 V8 in a Range Rover made 130bhp, 3.5 EFi in later ones made 165. The point of all this is a "genuine" defender V8 is not worth it compared to a 200TDi (same power but half the MPG, or less). Personally I found a 3.9 EFi was much more satisfactory, and the 4.6 even more so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 I'm not bothered about 'genuine'.......... i'm also not too fussed about economy, i only do about 2500 miles per yr in my truck as it is now, so i might aswell have what i want........... I was just wondering if there's another 90 vehicle that uses the right gearbox for a v8.... or was it specific to the v8.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 RRC 3.9 V8 plus the attached box, slot it in, away you go Much less hassle than trying to find the right vehicle, just for the sake of what kind of gearbox it has... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 IMO EFI is a must. Carbs should be left firmly in the past. Using an RRC or Disco box will work but puts the shifter in an odd position. The gearboxes are specific to the engine, so no other 90 box is going to bolt streight on. The best box you could end up with is probably a 300 Series Disco V8 box, thats been modified to move the shifter into the 90's position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Or an Auto, which is much easier to find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hmm, is it the LT95 or LT85 which is the strong one, that's good for V8s? A 3.9 EFI and a strong manual box is my dream setup in the 90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hi all, I could use some info if thats possible............ I currently have a tricked up discovery, but fancy a proper land rover, ie, 90..... I also fancy the idea of a v8 on carbs..... what is the best gearbox to use for such a beast, as if i can't find one as is, i could change it to suit my needs..... so which base vehicle is the best starting point for such a toy... petrol.. diesel...?? does it depend what gearbox is already in it, or are the ratios different for petrol/diesel anyway...??? Many thanks., There are probably a hundred more things i should ask, but i can't think at the moment.. A friend of mine is selling his V8 90 at the moment if you are after a base for your playing, if you are intrested he wants around £4.8k for it, it is a 1986 and very straight, let me know if you are intrested and I will pass you his details. Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Thanks Jason, however i think i have decided i need something newer, simply for the solidness of the base vehicle................. trouble is, the prices are so firm at the moment i'll end up skint if i get what i'd like.......... Thanks for the advice guys.............. much appreciated...... One more quickie.............. would a range rover v8, and manula gearbox fit......?? and is the gear lever in the right place, or is that the same issue with the disco box........... its an early 70's range rover engine and box i have in my sights...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 A friend of mine is selling his V8 90 at the moment if you are after a base for your playing, if you are intrested he wants around £4.8k for it, it is a 1986 and very straight, let me know if you are intrested and I will pass you his details. Jason. Thanks Jason, however i think i have decided i need something newer, simply for the solidness of the base vehicle................. trouble is, the prices are so firm at the moment i'll end up skint if i get what i'd like.......... Thanks for the advice guys.............. much appreciated...... One more quickie.............. would a range rover v8, and manula gearbox fit......?? and is the gear lever in the right place, or is that the same issue with the disco box........... its an early 70's range rover engine and box i have in my sights...! if the chasses isn't rusty thers nothing wrong it a 90 of that age but saying that i payed £1200 for my 1988 2.5TD 90 6 years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Agreed.......... however, i went and viewed an 84 v8, with just 43k on the clock, and the bulkhead was shot, the seat box needed lots of work.... and the rear floor had corroded through where the supports had rusted causing the aluminium to go aswell.... Some are clearly better than others.......... but the prices at the mopment are getting crazy..... Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 In olden times an LT85 or LT95 box was indeed the thing, however those are all 20 years old or more now. Any box from a Range Rover or Disco is going to have the shifters in the wrong place (basically a foot further back than they should be, somewhere in the cubby box!) and no you can't swap the shifter mechanisms over without basically using the back half of a Defender box anyway. I just bought one made to spec from Ashcrofts (3.9 Range Rover R380 front & bellhousing with Defender tailcasting & shifter). Autos are an easier fit as the gearstick is on a bowden cable and hence can be mounted anywhere, which just leaves the high/low linkage and oil cooler pipes to faff with. Other option has been mentioned - 4pot Defender box with V8 adapter plate. Since LR stopped making V8 Defenders around about the time the 200TDi came in (gawd, lots of years ago now) I don't think you're going to find a newer one with a V8 unless it's a conversion, and that's an extra can'o'worms in a used car. I'd either buy a half decent old one and tart it up or just start with a galvanised chassis and rusty Range Rover EFI and just build one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I came across only the other day mentions of fitting a defender shifter mechanism to a disco box without major rebuilding. The guy didnt post any pictures but his thread is here: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/disco-r380-into-defender-78310.html The important bit: Yeah I used the gear lever and remote off my original box because on the defender the gear stick is in front of the transfer lever but on the disco its behind. By the way I got a mate to turn up an extension for the selector shaft so no need to strip the old box. I've never seen the internals, but its something to look into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 It's not beyond the wit of man to make it work, but given that you can buy the correct gearbox for the job it seems like a fair bit of effort unless you have all the gear to hand to do it. Range Rover / Disco tailcasting: Defender tailcasting: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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